MY GOLDEN WEDDING

We had married on October 11, 1969 and on this occasion we got an invitation from the mayor of our city to celebrate with other couples  this event on November 16.

We  got a list to fill in how we met and some anecdotes etc and then got back a list of the program to follow !

We had to have a driver and sit in the back of the car. Our son was our driver and our DIL and grandson went with our neighbor.



We had a special parking space where we had to wait and were then directed to entrance of the city hall where an orchestra in Napoleon's uniforms started to play when we had got out of the car !



Then we were conducted by a man (on the picture it looks as if the King and Queen arrive with their body guard),

t
Our mayor and us

and then we arrived inside and were greeted by the mayor and her aldermen with three kisses !







Here we listened to the speeches, she told little stories about each couple, and then we were invited to a reception with Champagne and nibbles.






 But first we got our gifts



Our son (the tall one) and our daughter in law just below him and our best friends



There was enough for everybody



Father, son and grandson

Mr. G. had booked a Brunch for our guests in an Italian restaurant called "La Trattoria". Two of my friends left the reception earlier to decorate the table with a yellow table cloth, a garland of red roses and a huge golden "50".



There was a big variety of  cold food as starters,  hot food  and three different kinds of cakes. It was all very good. Of course we were happy that everything went smooth.



Besides our family, my son his wife and grandson there were all our best friends. The one on below row left had been my witness 50 years ago !

After lunch we invited them all to have a drink at home.



Fortunately we managed to have space for everybody and some bottles of Champagne with or without alcohol disappeared !



From the City we have got a beautiful cristal vase and a Diploma for our 50th wedding  anniversary, in the treasure box our friends had put envelopes and the flowers were from my son.



and here I am with son, daughter in law and grandson, who had his 9th birthday the next day.



For Nonno and Nonna's wedding celebration he had put on a suit and was very proud. He is quite tall for his age, nearly 1.55 m and has the same shoe size as me !



This is the beautiful vase we got and Mr. G. wears the 50th ! We had a real nice day, but went early to bed, because we were rather  tired !

It certainly was an unforgettable day !

AWWW MONDAY - WEEKEND NOVEMBER 16

Warming up .... unfortunately not it's fake !



Linking to AWWW MONDAYS

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We had married on October 11, 1969 and on this occasion we got an invitation from the mayor of our city to celebrate with other couples  this event on November 16.

We  got a list to fill in how we met and some anecdotes etc and then got back a list of the program to follow !

We had to have a driver and sit in the back of the car. Our son was our driver and our DIL and grandson went with our neighbor.

We had a special parking space where we had to wait and were then directed to entrance of the city hall where an orchestra in Napoleon's uniforms started to play when we had got out of the car !



Then we were conducted by a man (on the picture it looks as if the King and Queen arrive with their body guard),



and then we arrived inside and were greeted by the mayor and her aldermen with three kisses !



Here we listened to the speeches, she told little stories about each couple, and then we were invited to a reception with Champagne and nibbles.

Mr. G. had booked a Brunch for our guests in an Italian restaurant called "La Trattoria". Two of my friends left the reception earlier to decorate the table with a yellow table cloth, a garland of red roses and a huge golden "50".



There was a big variety of  cold food as starters,  hot food  and three different kinds of cakes. It was all very good. Of course we were happy that everything went smooth.



Besides our family, my son his wife and grandson there were all our best friends. The one on below row left had been my witness 50 years ago !

After lunch we invited them all to have a drink at home.



Fortunately we managed to have space for everybody and some bottles of Champagne with or without alcohol disappeared !



From the City we have got a beautiful cristal vase and a Diploma for our 50th wedding  anniversary, in the treasure box our friends had put envelopes and the flowers were from my son.



and here I am with son, daughter in law and grandson, who had his 9th birthday the next day.



For Nonno and Nonna's wedding celebration he had put on a suit and was very proud. He is quite tall for his age, nearly 1.55 m and has the same shoe size as me !



This is the beautiful vase we got and Mr. G. wears the 50th ! We had a real nice day, but went early to bed, because we were very tired !

On Sunday they only came in the afternoon because they had celebrated Toby's birthday with his friends and had gone to a Water amusement park. They came here for the birthday cake and of course to pick up his gift ! I had (on his request) bought a Nintendo Switch thing, about football FIFA 2000 I guess or whatever it is, but he was very happy about it and a T-shirt.

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures, but my son did, which I will probably get next year !

Anyway we chatted about the previous day and that everybody had enjoyed it. As they had to return to Amsterdam they didn't leave too late, there was office and school on Monday.

It certainly was an unforgettable day !

A DREAM CAME TRUE ?

Between these two pictures 50 years went by, I had never dreamed that 50  years later I would celebrate a Golden Wedding in the City Hall of our little town Waterloo together with 20 other couples invited by our mayor !


Linking to SOCS - Dream

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

The week started with pouring rain and we were happy that we could play our Scrabble in the warm living room of Myriam. I was third this time out of five which was a little better, but honestly I don't care to be the first or the last, the most important is the fun of playing ! After our scrabble we had a special treat, a Moroccan afternoon tea see post here.

I felt so tired and without any energy on Tuesday, so that even picking up a crumb was too much work. I just prepared the decoration things for our Golden Wedding on Saturday. The TV was also a good company. And to make my day even "better" I found out that the company where I had ordered the new TV furniture was bankrupt and my money was lost. There were many other clients too, but unfortunately nothing to do. It really had been a rotten day !

Aqua gym was nice, our animator just became a proud Dad 3 weeks ago and is beaming of proud and of course he has the most beautiful baby boy in the world. He makes us grandmas smile, we have had all this behind us !

As my grandson is also coming for our Golden Wedding and has his birthday just on Sunday, I had bought his birthday gift, don't ask me what it is it's a Nintendo game. But I also needed something for St. Claus on December 6, which is a very important day for Dutch kids and is more celebrated in the Netherlands then Christmas. I was looking for a nice pullover a bit fancy as he likes that, found one but not really for winter so I have to go into another shop.

On my way back home I stopped at Nichole's and we had a coffee and a chat together, while the neighbor's Labrador was with us, otherwise he is always alone because his owner is working and Nicole takes him out when she can. The dog was very friendly and adopted me immediately. Cat Isis sat on the windowsill and had a disgusted look on him. She doesn't seem to be afraid, Isis has a lot of character !


Queen Isis

A few girls were missing in our painting class many have a cold no wonder in this humid weather.
I discovered my "pouring" it had changed while it dried. I was quite happy with the result you never know what is coming out.



I started a new one, I just love pouring especially in this dull and grey season, colors cheer up !



I have to cover myself because it's  around with acrylic colours. But that's fun for me and let me forget all worries. But it's not something to do for a person who wants to know exactly what they are doing ! Here I choose the colors, mix them and pour them over the canvas, and then I have to wait a week to see what has come out ! So far I haven't been disappointed.

After class four of us went to the Chinese Restaurant "all you can eat" and came out almost exploding !



When I came home the tree in the middle of our useless roundabout had lost most of its leaves and looked so beautiful

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

My friend prepared a Moroccan mint tea ! Delicious !




more participants here,
and Image-in-ing


After our scrabble our friend served us a Moroccan mint tea, with delicious little cookies and crepes. The crepes you could either eat with creamy cheese or  with butter and honey. The crepes are very thin you can almost look through and you have to make several layers.

As you can see the teapot is freshly polished and the tea is served in special glasses. When serving, she poured the first glass half full and poured it back into the tea pot. Then she held the pot as high as possible and poured the hot tea into the glasses. The tea is made with fresh mint leaves, green tea and some spices.

I never drink mint tea, I don't like it, but this one is really delicious and I even had 2 or 3 glasses with the cookies and crepes. Of course none of us had supper !


Linking to One Liner Wednesday - pour

A SPECIAL STREET IN BRUSSELS

The rue de Brabant is behind Brussels' North station and is the third commercial artery of Brussels.













I couldn't find out when exactly the rue de Brabant developed its "Shopping Mall" aspect, with the difference that the around 240 shops are all side by side in an open street and not covered. There are only shops no private houses, except apartments over the shops. Each day there are an average of 25000 pedestrians going through this street. Why does Rue de Brabant attract so many people? Because there is an impressive diversity of oriental products. Food, fabrics, furniture, spices, accessories, gadgets, but also objects made in Africa or the Middle East impossible to find elsewhere to very cheap prices. The shops are open all the time, not closed on Sundays or official Holidays which is not the case of the shopping malls still closed on Sundays in Brussels.









The whole street was taken over by a majority of Moroccan  business men and their families. You will find a lot of shops where husband, wife and children work together. Of course everybody knows everybody and there is a very cheerful atmosphere around. There is not the  slightest sign of racism in this street. You are more safe here then in other streets of Brussels. That's why it is so well known by Belgians and other Nationalities who come from France, Germany and Holland for shopping.

I have read that probably this street will be declared as a  tourist attraction.

While looking for a parking space, which wasn't easy I had to turn twice around the side streets until finally I caught a space just in front of a Kaftan store where sweaters and trousers were also sold.

And while turning around in the side streets we also went through the red light zone  also behind the North station, where real pretty girls where sitting in their windows.


empty chairs means that they are busy



Unfortunately I couldn't stop and take pictures because there were many cars behind me. But we could see enough from the girls. I only hope they work for their own and not for a pimp.

When the car was parked we had lunch in a Moroccan restaurant and then started our shopping tour. The whole street is a huge melting pot of all races and colors









It had been the second time that I have been there with my three friends and it will certainly not be the last time ! If I am not feeling good, to cheer me up I can go there, and almost feel on holidays ! And .... there are so many things to buy ! I bought two pair of trousers very chic and comfy for 5 Euros each ! Couldn't believe it ! At that price I can change trousers every day.

There are also a lot of food specialities which I would love to try.

more participants here